INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA T6#CK
RICHARD LYNN -c%dvck^,
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland `.%JjsD<
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 8X$LC
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of id^sr
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a rJJ[X4$
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of yClx` S(
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation J=W0Xi!
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. Sv'y e
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 71fk.16
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 9H0Hu]zM
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed e`K)_>^n#
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally l|/LQ/
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of {Qv>q$Q
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ]m4OIst
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Km#pX1]>e
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained "*z_O
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature dRi5hC$
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by K_/zuTy
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 | ?yo 3
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. <7_KeOLJ
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ObG|o1b
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 52_#
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest !#2=\LUC
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the Q`%R[#
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 0aI;\D*Ts
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been L<V3KS2y
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn FV39QG4b4
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be IA&L]
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. zYY$D.
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial k]A8% z
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become I$t3qd{H&
available and are the subject of this report. O#a6+W"U
METHOD #A7jyg":
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by D${={x
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. &HW1mNF9
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a d[
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from @}-r&/#
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given dXHB #
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables w|[RDaA b
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile laKuOx}
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the o Y}]UB>
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). E
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RESULTS (ll*OVL
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for BYrZEVM9
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which b5G}3)'w
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is FR[ B v
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the !y:%0{l
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the h}`!(K^;3
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ;%C'FV e]
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British +|iYg/2
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 'XrRhF
(
British standardisation sample. @f+8%I3D
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH N6OMYP1
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 4mjgt<`
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. N2'qpxOLI
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means /u%h8!"R
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. LhXUm
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of nl aM
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white nlYR-.
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an H9)m^*
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2
+=q)
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean M:KbD|
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by i':i_kU
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater *l+OlQI0+
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically l_'[27
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. $2^`Uca
DISCUSSION >LC<O.
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in (>4aibA'P
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States
|{r$jZeE
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 2&PPz}Sw
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low }R[#?ty;]
living standards in China. N,dT3we
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- mW2,1}Jv
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by WEg6Kz
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than '_\;jFAM
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & YTQt3=1ii
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the oX@ya3!Pz
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half }9HmTr|
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 )4>
2IQ
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this kum#^^4G|
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been h^9"i3H
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in f3j{V N
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). b-U
eIjX
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US %@a8P
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 [H<bh%
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and J_;N:7'p
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 1=sXdcy;
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs .nu @ o40
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living KlV:L 4a~
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be }?F`t[+
expected to increase further. fKC3-zm